The phrase ‘slips and trips’ is often used to describe one of the most common types of personal injury claims.  These accidents can happen at work – for example, if an obstruction has been left in a corridor, liquid has been spilled on the floor, or the surface of the floor is in poor condition. Alternatively, they can also happen in public places such as in the street because of a pothole or uneven paving slab or on private premises where the public have access such as a cinema or supermarket.  

It is also possible to make a claim if you have a slip or trip on private land that is not open to the general public. However, for this type of claim, you must generally have been invited as a visitor onto the land or otherwise have a good reason for being there. An easy example – as a customer in a supermarket.

In both cases, the person or organisation responsible for the land or building has a legal duty to make sure that the area is reasonably safe. Whether the owner has failed to keep the area safe will depend on the circumstances, such as the type of land or building. For example, local authorities have a duty to maintain their pavements to keep them in good condition.
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Our mission is to win the maximum amount of compensation for our clients in the shortest possible time, and assist with any medical needs required. To help this happen, we try our best to provide the highest quality service levels to our clients.

The problem is that many people who instruct a personal injury lawyer to make their claim have probably never made a claim in the past (unless you’re a little unlucky); so many people don’t quite know what to expect, or what they are entitled to. Many people will make their judgements based on what friends and family say. So, how do you know what to do when you are entering in to a process that you have never been through before?

Well, here is a little hint: check the Client Testimonials on the website of the law firm you are looking to instruct!
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You may have probably stumbled upon this article because you simply want to know how much your claim could be worth.  You may just be curious as you have now instructed your lawyers to deal with your claim, and you are pondering what your payout could be.

Or – you could be trying to gauge how much the insures of the driver at fault in the accident you were in is going to pay you directly.

Well, if you are dealing with the insurers directly – I have some VERY grave news for you.
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If your child has been involved in an accident that was not their fault and have sustained injuries as a result, just like an adult, they are able to obtain compensation for their injuries.  The difference is that they will need a ‘Litigation Friend’ to conduct the case on their behalf.

As I am sure you would agree, most children under the age of 18 would not be capable of bringing a claim for compensation themselves; this is particularly true if they are just three or four years old.  But this does not mean that if they have been injured they cannot be compensated.  Instead, a ‘litigation Friend’ – in other words, a responsible adult with the child’s best interests at heart – can bring their claim for compensation for them. 

Typically a litigation friend will be a child’s parent or guardian, but equally could be a social worker or some other trustworthy adult who has no conflict of interest with the case.
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There are so many websites out there to browse through when it comes to deciding who you want to represent you for your claim for compensation.

The bad news is that a load of them are NOT actually lawyers; they are just Claims Management Companies and Accident Advice Services that often like to appear as if they’re lawyers to draw you in.
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OK – so we’ve been covering the fantastic news that referral fees for claims, such as referrals through legal expenses insurance / motor legal protection where your insurers will ‘sell’ your details on to a third party solicitor for cash, which forms part of a government agenda to make the world of compensation claiming more efficient.

One of the other areas has been surrounding the cut of the legal aid bill and potential changes to the no win, no fee system. The gist and result of the whole idea will result in a reduction in the number of payouts, which I imagine is intended for the costs of insurance to lower; although I’d love to see the day the insurers pass on saving to the consumer!

But, back to the main topic, sadly, proposals in place involve shifting some of the costs of the no win, no fee system to the Claimant from the Defendant. We strongly oppose such a notion, as it will result in innocent accident victims having their payouts slashed to cover costs the Defendant, i.e. the person or party at fault for the injuries, will no longer have to pay the full amount.
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At The Injury Lawyers we are frequently asked about how the compensation claiming process works.  In most parts the claims process is actually quite straightforward; what is better is that with the right lawyer your side they will do all the work for you.  Here is a quick guide to how you accident claim works.

The first thing that is required is to produce a Letter of Claim.  This outlines your accident and why we consider that the Defendant is legally responsible for your injuries and should therefore provide you with compensation.  At The Injury Lawyers we try and get this off to the Defendant as soon as possible to make sure that there are no delays in getting your compensation.  It is therefore extremely helpful if you have all your details along with the accident circumstances, in as much detail as possible, so that your Letter of Claim is thorough and can be sent straightaway. 

The more detail your lawyers have the faster your claim can be settled because the Defendant will be able to investigate your claim without having to seek further information.  When your Letter of Claim is sent the Defendant has a period of 21 days to acknowledge receipt, and then upon this, a further 3 months to investigate your claim.  This is not to say that the Defendant will need these 3 months to investigate, but they are allowed this period of time.  Naturally, the more detailed the Letter of Claim, the faster your claim can be investigated.
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At The Injury Lawyers we welcome the recent announcement that referral fees have been banned.  We believe that this will provide greater transparency within the legal and insurance world and will ensure that the Claimant gets the best possible service.

A referral fee is a fee paid by a solicitor or claims management company to an insurer for the details of those who have been unfortunate enough to have been involved in an accident and sustained injuries as a result.  For example, you have been involved in a road traffic accident and suffered a broken arm through no fault of your own. 

Insurers know you have a claim for compensation and will provide your details to a solicitor or claims management company who is willing to pay between £200 and £1,000 on average for those details.  The reason they will pay such a hefty fee is because they know your claim for compensation has excellent prospects of success and that they can get this referral fee back and more in legal costs when they win your case.  All they have to do is get in touch with you, get you on board, and then win your claim – which is actually quite straightforward.
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Making a claim for compensation for injuries sustained in a relatively straightforward road accident is quick and easy.  As of the 30^th April 2010 a new process came into place which streamlined the compensation claiming process making it a heck of a lot faster and easier.  Whereas previously an admission of liability could potentially take four months to come from the Defendant, now the Defendant only has 15 business days to admit or deny liability.  As I am sure you would agree, this is a massive improvement.

What happens now is that when you get in touch with an injury lawyer you will be asked to help your lawyer fill out what is called a claims notification form.  This will outline your accident circumstances, the vehicles involved, the injuries you have sustained, and the parties details.  This will be submitted, once completed, to the Ministry of Justice portal online and the Defendant’s insurers will have just one day to acknowledge receipt of it. 

After this they then have the 15 business days to come back with their position on liability.  At The Injury Lawyers we only take only cases which we genuinely believe will be successful; therefore in most of our cases an admission is received well within this 15 day period.
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Children are involved in accidents every day; whether at school, in the playground, or at home. Quite often this is simply a pure accident that is no one’s fault. However, children can be the victims of other people’s careless behaviour, just the same as adults.

Young people suffer injuries in pretty much the same sort of circumstances that adults do, whether it is as a passenger in a car, tripping or slipping in a public place or because of a faulty product.

Children are more vulnerable than adults and this means that people in situations involving children have to take extra care to ensure that they do not cause harm to children because of their carelessness.  It also means that children can claim compensation in situations where adults could not; for example if a child has an accident because they were not being supervised properly.
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